by M. A Casey
It would be an understatement to say everyone enjoyed the meal. All the dishes were passed around as we ate our way through the feast. Even Davis and Ian sat with us tonight. Mum thought it would be easier that way. I was worried it would make it uncomfortable, but everyone was enjoying the food too much to care.
There were no leftovers, even though I cooked enough to feed an army. Everyone thanked Mum and I for the meal including Davis and then the boys offered to clean up. In the meantime, I thought I would go check on Patch, on my way down I bumped into Ian in the hall.
“That was the best meal I have ever eaten Hayln. You know I'll actually miss your cooking when this job is finished.”
No, you won’t, I thought to myself. If I did this right he wouldn't remember anything, but I didn’t say that instead I thanked him and went to see Patch.
He was doing well – fit and healthy with no idea how to retrieve the food over his head. I breathed a sigh of relief.
The rest of the evening we spent together in the lounge just watching TV. There was some football game on, but we barely watched it. We all spoke casually, and lay around as if we were on holidays. As it got later though, the mood changed. Without saying anything we all became aware that we would soon wake for our meeting, and we would plan how to end this situation.
I went to bed before anyone else, I needed to get as much rest as possible for both the meeting and for what we had planned tomorrow. Once I lay in bed, I realized how tired I actually was, and it didn’t take long to fall asleep.
I was woken by the softest of kisses, and I threw my arms around Zeke to pull him onto the bed with me. He laughed quietly as he followed my lead.
“You know you talk in your sleep,” he said in between kisses. His hands were running down the length of my body.
“I do not,” I said as I gently bit his lip. He moaned softly.
“You were talking about Spencer,” he said as he pulled back to look into my eyes. “You never told me what that was about today.”
“I’d forgotten about it to tell you the truth.” Disappointed that the make out session had already finished. “Let’s talk about it at the meeting. I’d better get that window open for Tyler.”
“I’ve already done it,” he said running his fingers lightly across my collarbone. “Now tell me something else, has he ever done this before. You know, Tyler, getting into your room.”
I couldn’t hold back my amusement.
“You’re laughing at me?” Zeke sounded embarrassed.
“I’m sorry, but you are so cute when you’re jealous.” I cupped the side of his face gently. I kissed him on the cheek, then on his jaw and finally on his neck. He smelt amazing.
“I promise you, the only boy who has ever gotten into my room through that window is you, and unfortunately, I wasn’t here to take advantage of it.” I said as I brought my lips back to his.
“I promise to make sure you’re here next time,” he said in a sexy voice with the most spectacular smile that made me want to pull him back into bed with me. Just then we heard a rustle in the tree outside. We went to the window and saw Tyler making his way up to my window. I stood back as Zeke grabbed his arm and helped him into my room.
“That’s not as easy as it looks,” Tyler said, although I have to admit he made it look extremely easy. “So what do we do now?”
“We go to Emin’s room, everyone will be in there.” I could tell he wanted to know how we were achieving this each night, and I thought it would save time in the meeting if I explained it now. I told him how Emin and Zeke were looping the feed into the monitors and that Emin’s room was sound proofed. He didn’t ask any questions after my explanation so we padded quietly to Emin’s room ready for the meeting.
Everyone was waiting for us to arrive. They were keen to get started as the three of us had already wasted a bit of time in my room. Dad confirmed that our testing was successful and that he was happy to go ahead with the plan if we could tie up all the loose ends. I watched his face, he looked extremely proud as he spoke about our day in the lab, I could tell he was impressed with my work.
Tyler explained that the only people who knew about us were Spencer, Davis, Ian and Aunt Maive. He also went over the details of where all the information about us was stored and how he was going to ensure it was all destroyed. So far everyone seemed happy with the explanations.
“Now before we get onto how tomorrow will play out, I would like to know what Spencer said to you Hayln,” Dad asked. I knew my entire family had been anxious about this all day, so I was happy to put their minds at ease.
“He made me an offer,” I said bluntly. “It’s something we should probably consider if we need a Plan B. He wants me to join him as part of his team. He said he would help me discover my abilities, while I work in his lab for him.”
“No way Hayln, that can’t be an option,” Zeke objected. “Not as a Plan B – not at all.”
“I agree,” Dad said, and Mum and Emin nodded in agreement.
“I don’t think there will be much of a choice if our plan doesn’t work. He has as good as said it was the only way to keep us all safe. If I stay with him, he won’t hurt any of you and I will still be allowed to see you from time to time.”
“But you will spend the rest of your life alone doing his dirty work, with no one to look after you,” Emin said desperately.
“She won’t be alone,” Tyler said with a somber voice. “If we can’t make this work I will have to spend the rest of my life with Spencer as well.”
“Then we will make Hayln’s plan work – whatever it takes,” Zeke said suddenly dead serious.
“Agreed,” Mum said softly. “Now let’s forget about that and sort out the details for tomorrow.”
It had suddenly become very tense so I jumped in with some details I knew we needed to discuss.
“I need to get hold of a more stable machine to conduct the current during the experiment. The one we have downstairs was adequate for Patch but not for humans.” I looked at Tyler because I knew he was our only hope of getting this for us.
“I am not sure where to find that Hayl’s,” he started saying before Dad stopped him.
“At the University, in Professor Gregor’s lab there is a machine that will work perfectly. I can give you a key and passwords to get in tonight, do you think you can manage that?”
“Absolutely,” Tyler confirmed.
“If you need a car mine is in the block behind this one,” Zeke added.
“Thanks, that would be good,” Tyler said.
“Just have it close by tomorrow, we won’t bring it inside until we have them sedated.” Dad said.
“That was something I was going to ask about Ethan, do you have enough anesthetic to sedate four people, long enough for Hayln to perform the procedure on all of them?” Mum questioned.
“Yes we do, but I am more worried about getting them sedated.” Dad explained.
“I have been thinking about that,” Emin joined in.
“Um, before we get into that I wanted to ask something,” Tyler said sounding nervous. “You mentioned sedating four people, I was kind of hoping we wouldn’t have to do this to Aunt Maive.”
The silence was deafening. “She knows about us Tyler, and she works for Spencer,” I tried to reason with him.
“I know all that Hayl’s, better than any of you. But we’ve only had each other over the past few years, and we have grown closer. Mostly due to Spencer’s mistreatment of us – but she is all the family I have.”
“Tyler how do we know we can trust her. This is all our lives we are talking about, including yours,” Mum asked softly.
“I know Mrs Knox, but she has been mistreated too. It’s true she started out as one of his allies, but time has changed that. We have spoken about it many times. She has told me that she is glad she became my guardian but has always regretted the circumstances it was under. If given a choice between siding with Spencer or siding with me, I know who she would choose.”
I could see in his brown eyes how serious he was. And it was true Aunt Maive was all he had apart from us. I looked to the faces of my family, I could tell they were torn over this decision. At the end of the day, we needed Tyler to make this work, and I had already decided that I trusted him. So I guess that meant I would have to take his word on this too.
“Does Aunt Maive know anything about our plan?” I questioned.
“No, I wanted to talk to all of you first – I wasn’t even sure what the plan was.”
“How long can you leave her in the dark?” Dad asked.
“Why, do you have an idea?” Tyler sounded hopeful.
“Well, do you think you could keep the details from her until we have the other three sedated. Then you could bring her here, and we can talk to her face to face. I would like to hear what she has to say myself,” Dad explained.
“I can live with that,” Tyler agreed.
“Okay then, can we get back to how we are going to get these three sedated,” Zeke said.
“Like I said before, I’ve been thinking about that,” Emin chimed in. “I think we all need to be down in the lab. Zeke, Tyler and I should position ourselves around Spencer and the henchmen.”
“Tyler should mark Davis,” I butted in. “His special abilities give him extra strength and Davis is the strongest and quickest.”
“I agree,” Emin said. “Zeke and I will take Spencer and Ian. They all have guns, but I thought we could surprise them if we could have a syringe with something that would knock them out immediately. And if we wore long sleeve shirts we could hide them until the last minute.”
“I can organize the syringes,” Dad agreed.
“Then Hayl’s can do her thing and the only thing left will be to decide what to do with them after their brain purge.” Emin mocked.
“Do you know where all the men live Tyler,” Mum asked.
“All but Davis. Ian lives alone in town here and Spencer in Kings Valley.”
“I have been thinking about this part, and I would like to take care of it myself. I hope to be able to implant some memories to help them come to terms with any memory loss they may have. We can drop Ian back to his house, and Davis we can take to a motel or something. Spencer will be a little more difficult, but I was hoping you might help me with that Dad.”
He didn’t seem surprised by my statement so I guess he must have anticipated my idea.
“Well that just about wraps it up don’t you think?” Emin said looking at his watch.
“What time do you want Spencer to arrive?” Tyler asked as we all stood to leave the room.
“After lunch, by the time Hayln has finished the procedure it should be dark enough to get them out of the house without anyone noticing,” Dad answered.
We all said good night to each other. We were short on time so I knew Zeke couldn’t come with me to my room, but Tyler had to. Dad gave Tyler the keys to get into the university along with the password. I walked toward Zeke, and he reached out and held the medallion around my neck softly in his hand. I knew he was saying that he loved me, and I smiled at him hoping he would know how much I wanted to be with him. From his expression, I think he did, then Tyler and I left quietly.
I closed the door to my bedroom, and we walked to the open window.
“Are you nervous about tomorrow?” Tyler asked quietly. He was standing very close to me, and I suddenly did feel nervous, although not about tomorrow.
“It will work, it has too. I don’t want to spend my life with Spencer.” I said through a lump in my throat.
“Me either,” he said as he reached to hold my hand. “Although I have to admit, when I heard we'd be working together, it did start to sound a bit more appealing.” He removed his hands from mine and started to trace them up my arms. I knew what was going to happen next unless I stopped it. I didn’t want anything to jeopardize tomorrow, but I knew it was time to tell Tyler the truth.
“Tyler there is something I have to tell you,” I said moving away from his warm hands on my arms. He looked at me with a kind expression.
“It’s alright Hayl’s, I guess I already know,” he said as he reached out and held one of my hands again. “Hell, I knew as soon as you said Ezekiel kissed you. But I thought if I hung in there, you might change your mind. I guess that sounds stupid.”
“It doesn’t sound stupid at all, but I am sorry if I've hurt you. I never meant to do that. You are my best friend Tyler, and nothing will change that - not even a boyfriend.” I looked into his deep brown eyes and smiled, I could tell he was putting on a brave face. “Friends?”
“Always,” he said as he gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. “Now, I have a break and enter at the university to do. So if you don’t mind I better get back down this tree without breaking my neck.”
“Thanks, Tyler,” I said as I closed the window behind him, making sure he was safely on the ground before getting into bed. Telling Tyler the truth was a double edged sword. It hurt to know that I'd caused him pain, but on the other hand, it was a relief to have him know the truth. I hoped that after tomorrow, he would have a whole new life to look forward to, and we could go back to being best friends.
Trap
When I woke I felt a little uneasy. I guess that is to be expected, considering what we were doing today. I grabbed my jeans and a t-shirt and headed to the shower. The door was shut, and I could hear someone inside so I knocked on the door and asked how long they would be.
“Just finishing up Hayl’s,” Zeke shouted back at me. I could feel the smile spread across my face. If there was anyone who could make me forget about erasing three people’s memory, it was Zeke.
He came out the door still drying his hair with his towel. I don’t think I had ever seen him look so amazing. He was standing in front of me with his jeans hanging low on his hips and nothing else. His chest looked perfect even with some bruising still showing, and his arms and shoulders showed how well defined his muscles were. It took all my effort to drag my eyes away from his body and look at his face, but once I saw his emerald eyes, framed by his messy wet hair, I truly had to stop myself from drooling. I knew my hair had a bird’s nest or two, and I still had sleep in my eyes, so I suddenly felt extremely embarrassed. My behavior seemed to be amusing him, as a cocky smile spread across his face.
“You see something you like Miss Knox?”
“I was just noticing how well your healing, the bruising looks much better today,” I said stumbling through my words.
“And here I was thinking you were left speechless by my half naked body,” he said as he closed the gap between us.
I could barely string a sentence together as he moved closer to kiss me. As his lips touched mine, I felt a little scared to reach out and touch his bare skin. I was worried once my hands were on his body, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from wanting much more than was possible here.
I tried to get my head together before I spoke again. “I told Tyler about us last night, although I don’t think he was surprised.”
I could tell he was glad to hear I had told Tyler, but he didn’t comment; instead he was appraising me carefully. “Are you okay today Hayl’s, you seem a little distracted.” He had lost all his cockiness and was genuinely concerned about my mood.
“Nervous about today I guess. Plus seeing you half naked doesn’t help with my concentration,” I teased.
“Good, I was starting to worry I had no effect on you at all,” he said brushing my crazy hair back off my face. “You aren’t alone today Hayl’s, and besides, once we get this out of the way we can organize some of that alone time you requested.”
He kissed me on the neck softly as he walked back to his room. I closed the door to the bathroom and jumped in the shower desperate to calm myself down after having him so close. By the time I got out of the bathroom, I looked human again and headed to the kitchen for breakfast.
Dad was already in the lab, but Emin, Mum and Zeke were all eating. I sat down to join them
when I heard Davis’s phone ring. He grunted a few times and came into the kitchen when he ended the call.
“Spencer will be here around two o’clock, Tyler told him you have the strain ready – you never mentioned it.” He spoke to all of us but was only watching me.
“You never asked,” I answered between mouthfuls of cornflakes. “But it’s true we told Tyler we were ready for Spencer today.”
“Excellent, hopefully this will be over soon then,” he said as he strolled confidently back to the lounge.
Two o’clock I thought to myself, that felt like days away. I decided the best thing to do was prepare myself for what memories I wanted to implant in these men. Ian and Davis have only known about us for a relatively short amount of time so to remove their memories would be easy, but I didn’t know much about them, especially Davis, and it was time to find out.
I went downstairs where Dad was playing with Patch. He seemed quite calm, even relaxed as he smiled when I came in.
“He’s in perfect health Hayln, no side effects at all. Your work is truly remarkable.”
I could tell he had wanted to say that since yesterday but held back to make sure Patch was alright. “Thanks Dad, that means a lot.”
“Dad, do you know much about Davis or Ian. I just want to work out the memories I want to implant, but it would help if I had more information on them.”
“Tyler could probably tell you more than I could,” he said. I am pretty sure he could tell I was a little disappointed, but he went on.
“I didn’t meet Ian until you did, the night of the benefit, but I met Davis when I first went to Kings Valley. While he was torturing Able and me, Spencer was bragging that he was ex-military and had been doing those sorts of things for years. But I’m afraid that’s all I know Hayln, I’m sorry.”
“That’s a good start Dad, and hopefully Tyler will know more.” I said taking a seat next to him.